Concept and creation

Mario's symbol

Mario first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong as a carpenter named "Jumpman".[3] In Japan, he was called "Mr. Video". Later, he was named "Mario", after Mario Segale, who was a lot like Mario. Mario Segale was the owner of the land where Nintendo of America's office was built.[4]

Back then, games were hard to make and Nintendo could not make Mario move without making his arms "disappear". Changing his clothes fixed it. They also did not have the space to give him a mouth or ears, and they could not make hair, so Mario had a moustache, sideburns, and a cap so it would not look like he was bald. Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that he gave Mario a cap because he has a hard time drawing hair.[5] Mario is currently voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, respectively, and other characters like Toadsworth.[6]